TRACY — Tracy area youth have joined in the celebrations of the U.S.’s 250th anniversary by taking part in a patriotic poster design contest. The students and their artwork will be celebrated later this month in an open house at the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum in Tracy.

“We had really good participation,” said museum director Jon Wendorff.

Students in Tracy Area Schools and at St. Mary’s School submitted their poster designs celebrating the 250th anniversary.

The community open house will be May 27, at the Wheels Across the Prairie Heritage Center main building. The event will include an award presentation and refreshments, and award-winning posters will be on display at the Heritage Center this summer.

“The top three posters are going to get made into a bigger banner,” Wendorff said.

The idea to hold a poster contest was one way to celebrate the country’s anniversary, Wendorff said. Contest organizers said poster contest entries were judged on criteria including patriotic expression and appropriateness, artistic quality and craftsmanship, imagery and having a positive and inclusive message.

Judging of contest entries took place last week. Wendorff said Wheels Across the Prairie board members and community members including retired educators went through the entries. With the quality of the posters in the contest, picking winners wasn’t an easy task for judges.

“It was a little hard to choose first place,” Wendorff said.

The open house event will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on May 27, at the Prairie Heritage Center main building. Members of the public are invited to attend for an award presentation, poster displays and free ice cream treats.

“It’s an opportunity to celebrate the kids,” Wendorff said.

Even if they can’t attend the open house, visitors can see posters on display at Wheels Across the Prairie this summer. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Wendorff said there will be a lot for people to see at the museum, along with students’ artwork. Wheels Across the Prairie features 17 different buildings, including historic railroad buildings, the John H. Low log cabin, and more.

A variety of talks on local history are also planned at the museum this summer. On June 20, speakers Stephen Osman and Joe Fitzharris will be at a Civil War round table, and will discuss the 3rd Regiment of Minnesota’s role at Wood Lake and Lake Shetek. The talk will be followed by a tour of Lake Shetek.

On June 27, historian and author Russ Swanson will give a talk on the manhunt for the James-Younger gang after the gang’s 1876 raid on Northfield’s First National Bank.